Ancient Egyptians used Kohl
eye liners which were made from a mixture of materials including lead, copper,
ore and antimony which is a toxic metallic element, The materials were ground
into a paste and applied with rounded sticks of wood, bronze or glass which had
been created and molded for the purpose, Kohl pots where very common and were
used to crush and serve as cosmetic containers for the eye make-up, The vast
use of Kohl is documented by the sheer number of pots found among burial
belongings from the Old Kingdom to the end of the New Kingdom.
Eye liner started to gain
popularity in the early 1900's using the same formula that was made in the
Egyptian times using kohl and animal fats. The Popularity of the commercially
made eyeliner began when the members of the Russian ballet performed in London
in 1909, dancing upon the stage with defined and dramatized eye make-up. This
was also the time that the demand for mascara and eye shadows where increased
in popularity as well.
Helena Rubenstein and
Elizabeth Arden two big heavy weights in the cosmetic industry in the early
1900's where inspired by the Russian ballerinas and started to create eye make-up
to bring to the public what they saw on the London stage.
Helena Rubenstein is also
credited with having invented a new special kind of Kohl or eyeliner to make
then movie star Theda Bara's eye look and appear more dramatic on the big
silver screen.
During the World Wars women
kept their faces clean and simple, very little eyeliner was worn around the
eyes, but the shortage and unavailable items such as silk stockings lead to an
interesting use of eyeliner where the women for the war times would apply eyeliner
along the back of their legs to give the impression that they were wearing
stockings.
The 1960's brought on the
invention of the liquid eyeliner and it was used to replicate the thick black
lines that was on the fashion run ways.
Today we are spoilt for choice when it comes to eyeliners, we can choose an
eyeliner in just about any colour from the traditional black, to bright primary
colours, browns and grays and even ones that are glitter based, it also comes
in pencil form with is similar to a coloured pencil and is sharpened to apply
the product, gel and cream form are much softer than a pencil or kohl eyeliner
and is applied with a brush and liquid is an opaque liquid that comes in a
small tube or bottle and is applied with a brush or felt applicator that comes
with the bottle. It is used to create sharp, bold, precise lines and is usually
only applied to the top lash line.
Eyeliner is commonly used in a daily make up routine to define the eyes
making them appear either bigger or smaller it also draws attention to the eyes
or if applied in certain ways can change the eye's shape. It is applied upon
the water liner, tightline, underneath the lower eye lashes and upon the top
lash line.
